A Simple Delivery Mission
by opEd-girl
Summary: There she stood, backed against the rocky wall. Time enough to pull her black leather gloves tight to her palms, her stare never wavering from the numerous glares of enemy combatants waiting to make their moves. What will Sakura do next?
1. Separated

There she stood, backed against the rocky wall. Time enough to pull her black leather gloves tight to her palms, her stare never wavering from the numerous glares of enemy combatants waiting to make their moves.

The wind was blowing hard against the mountain side. Bits of sand and dust made ticking sounds as they bounced from cliffs above, brushing off the lithe body of the kunoichi on their way to the floor of the sharp plateau where her stance, once off balance, was slowly transforming into a formidable posture a raging bull might not sway.

Sakura, a grimace on her face, fiery anger running coarsely through her veins, wondered how it had come to this. She glanced to her left, the wide cliff she stood on tapered to a narrow trail where the three of them had climbed from. She glanced to her right where the three of them should have passed, continuing with their trivial mission, if not for this confrontation.

"Will you follow him?" The apparent leader goaded in an arrogant tone. He was tall and ugly, his nose broken too many times. With the back of his hand he wiped the sweat forming under his chin, taking a step to block the path upward. "Or will the little girl go back the way she came?" He motioned for his minions to corner the path downward. His arm was swinging a lengthy chain, a round, heavy iron ball attached to the end.

Sakura's eyes settled straight ahead past the swinging chain, passed the rest of the brooding thugs, their weapons clinking and tapping open palms. Her sights paused on the sharp edge of the cliff, the dust blowing off, flying into the distance. The brutish leader saw it was not he who owned her gaze, but by that time it was too late, her sprint was picking up speed.

Sakura dashed past bodies, ducking and dodging limbs and sharpened swords. The closer she came to the edge, the slower time started to pass. Each stride was an eternity, each breath could not be taken quickly enough. She reached her last step on solid ground, she jumped outward, the sounds of grunting men and clashing metal disappeared replaced only with her heartbeat and air streaming past her ears. Sakura felt a pinch at the nape of her back, a sting like a bee. She turned her body in free fall, throwing out a few kunai, her last parting gifts as the edge of the cliff moved further and further from view. Sakura's last vision, one of masked heads peering downward from the cliff where she once stood, smaller and smaller they became, she was falling.

* * *

...


	2. Previously

The sun was shinning bright on the rocky path. Though the air was chilly and the breeze was cool, the sun had a way of keeping the three warm in spirit and body.

High on the mountain road Naruto sat on the edge of the path, legs dandling over the high cliff. He leaned back on one hand, a rice ball in the other, starring out above the panoramic view of the country side. Though all it would take was a strong gust of wind to knock his balance, or the trail beneath him to give way dropping him down the steep facade, he felt carefree and content, like this place was home.

"Come on Sakura-chan, I'm just asking you too eat some ramen with me one time where it's just us..." Naruto said it as seriously as he could, knowing his advances were always futile.

"Like a date." Sakura finished his thoughts for him, "You never give up." She smiled and rolled her eyes. At least he was persistent. She finished her rice ball and gingerly sat down. The heights of mountain and the steepness of the cliff intimidated her more so than it did Naruto. Sakura inched close to him, giving him a gentle nudge of her elbow, as she kicked her feet out and perched on the cliff next to him.

Sai sat quieting against the rock face content not to endanger himself by the precarious cliffs. He had been painting his abstractions, but had stopped to listen to Naruto and Sakura converse. He had learned a lot about interacting with others since joining their team. Things like tone of voice, humor and sincerity were in every conversation he had with them, but Sakura was always perplexing, at least when it came to Naruto. She would deny him what he asked, but then invite herself into his space and even playfully touch him. Sai remembered reading about how pats on the shoulder or a rub on the back were often silent signs of approval or affection. He wondered if she did it on purpose; did that elbow nudge mean she wanted to eat ramen with him? Or was it her words that were truthful? He smiled slightly not knowing why his observations elicited such a facial response.

"Sai, you want to come with us for some ramen when we finish this mission?" Sakura yelled over her shoulder, continuing her little game.

Naruto heaved a big sigh, putting on a smile for Sakura to see, it always hid his disappointment well. He finished his rice ball and leaned back on both hands, his head tilting to catch the sun's heat, eyes closing to feel the warmth on his face. Sakura, bumping her thigh against his as she leaned back on her hands, her arm outreached behind her, grazed against Naruto's. The voiceless gesture was clear in its meaning "You know I'm joking, right?" Without opening his eyes, without lifting his head, Naruto nudged her arm's light embrace as if to say, "Yeah, I know."

Sai interjected, ruining the silent moment between the two. "It would seem we are very close to delivering this message to our neighboring country. We just have to finish crossing this mountain passage. Perhaps we will make it back in time for ramen tonight." Sai, without meaning to, added insult to injury.

"Aw, Sai, you too?" Naruto laughed and shook his head. He stood up, stretching his arms. "I suppose we should make some headway before we lose anymore light." He gave Sakura his hand and hoisted her to her feet.

The three gave a nod in unison and continued up the rocky trail. The three chatted and hiked, the simple delivery mission tempted their guards to sleep. There hadn't been moments so harmonious in quite a while; the cheery banter was welcomed by all of them.

Soon the trailway started to open wide. What was once a narrow path with sharp edges was now a wide shelf, big enough for a couple of village houses to sit on with room to spare.

"What a strange way to carve out a path." Naruto pondered out loud as they entered the beginnings of the plateau.

"The ruling nation responsible for constructing this mountain passage most likely meant this to be a vantage point in times of war." Sakura put the time she spent at the library to good use.

"I don't think we are alone anymore." Sai said without hesitation nor any sense of urgency.

From the opposite side of the trail, a rowdy, ugly looking bunch of soldiers were stomping their way across the mountain.

"Mercenaries." Naruto whispered.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "I think this is by chance, try not to engage them." Her hand went to her belt, fingertips ready on her kunai.

The three ninja waited patiently for the loud, obviously somewhat drunk bunch of thugs to even notice their presence.

The leader, a tall, scarred, hairy man stopped at the front of the group. "What do we have here?" His voice boomed.

With that response, it was clear there would not be a peaceful passage across the mountain for the Konoha three this day. Naruto, as he always did, stepped in front of his friends, the first one ready for a fight.

* * *

...


	3. It Begins

The sunlight was turning a warm reddish-yellow color, the way it always did late in the afternoon. The shadows cast across pebbles and stones were sharp and long. The two groups met at the middle of the path way, each making a wall the other could not cross.

"Traveling ninja? Aren't you all a little young to be ninja?" The mercenary leader laughed and from his crossed arms gave a point of his finger to Naruto's headgear. "What village you from?"

"Konoha." Sakura stated, still pondering how to graciously exit without any blood being spilled.

"My, my Kai, The village Konoha has some pretty kunoichi, don't they?" A grizzled man standing in the pack hooted, eliciting a nod and smile from their leader.

"That they do." Kai replied over his shoulder, giving Sakura a wink, and a disgustingly slow lick of his lip.

Naruto didn't care for his lewd gesture; Sakura could hear his teeth grind, and see his stance begin to tighten. The situation was turning quickly in a direction she wanted to avoid.

She set her hand on Naruto's shoulder as she stepped over his stance. Taking the lead, she instantly diffused his angry into confusion. "And where are you from?" She smiled looking so deceptively innocent. She said it in such a way, it even made Sai's ears perk up. Naruto wondered where she had learned to be so, to be so seductive.

"From here, from there. The name is Kai, and what shall I call you, beautiful?" He leaned in, one hand on his hip, the other coming up to brush against Sakura's chin.

Sakura turned her head away, his face repulsed her, his breath smelled of rotting teeth. She played it coyly, swallowing the loathing she felt. She continued to dance around the conversation, trying to weave a safety net they could fall into.

Another thug had wandered up to Sai, he eyed his pen and parchment. Sai, lacking any sort of emotional response, said nothing only starring back at the man.

"What? You like to draw pictures all day?" The thug taunted. "And what's with that short lil' shirt you're wearing? I'd like to see that on princess over there." His laughter reverberated through the rest of the men as his quip made it's way to the stragglers at the back of the now very loud and restless crowd.

Never one to disobey mission plans, Sai glanced over to Naruto for any sort of hint of what an appropriate reaction should be. Naruto met Sai's gaze, only turning from Sakura for one second. It only took that one second. From the corner of his eye, he saw it happen. Kai's hand had made its way from Sakura's chin to a less than appropriate place, a five fingered grab, accompanied with an equally repulsive comment exiting Kai's mouth. Naruto twisting around, his arms fruitlessly grabbed at the coiled fist darting passed.

Sakura had a temper. Though she would often lash out at Naruto's immature antics, her temper was always well in check; there were few times she could not keep it hidden, this was one of them. Her fist hit Kai square in the jaw, a flash of chakra sparked as he went flying backward, knocking down rows of his men in the process. He was finally stopped by a boulder 20 feet away. All eyes were on him as his body slid down to a sitting position, a groan exiting his mouth.

Naruto once again looked at Sai, before he could even speak that plans had changed, Sai, pen in hand drew his horrible beasts. They sprang from his pages, cutting down the nearby warriors, making their way into the brooding gang to be slashed into ink once more. In the blink of an eye Sai had jumped to the mountain wall, ran along it, bounced off one of the thugs landing by the trail-way heading across the mountain. Without even a look back, he sprinted and disappeared beyond the path's bend. A ninja must always assure the success of the mission, Sai got that part right. Naruto only wished he, at least, had some sort of loyalty to his team. Naruto rolled his eyes and set his stance, this was going to be a long fight.


	4. The Fight

Kai, rubbing his jaw, held up his arm, it silenced his crew who had been on the verge of charging the two remaining Konoha Ninja. Naruto had grabbed and wrestled Sakura away, too late to stop her from her own impetuous actions.

"If you won't act like a gentleman, then I will not act like a lady!" Sakura, held back only by Naruto's tentative grip, was yelling as she tried to continue her attack.

Kai smiled. "Fine little girl, have it your way." He waved his arm down, motioning for his crew, all of them looking backward at him, to let loose. "What are you looking at? Get them!"

Naruto let go of Sakura, with a quick set of hand signs, he called forth shadow clones to stop the ensuing group of enemies. Each clone took on one of the thugs, creating a sea of hand to hand fist fights, puffs of white smoke occasionally bursting into the air as a clone was defeated.

Sakura, kunai in hand, was defending and dodging attacks, countering others and generally making her way to where Kai was watching the commotion take place. Each enemy she defeated drew her closer to her target. A fist came flying, she ducked and countered with her own chakra-filled punches, sending the combatant into the crowd, opening a path for her to continue through.

Kai never did let go of his smile. He was standing, watching the carnage around him. He had since taken out his weapon of choice, a thick ball and chain that he lazily spun around. He watched as his comrades fell by that annoying blonde boy with his many clones and the mousy pink haired girl.

It was quite obvious to Kai that Sakura was making her way to him; Kai stopped looking at all other happenings, he enjoyed how this young woman was coming to him, to fight him and in the end, to die by his hands. Swinging his chain, he caught every glimpse of her lithe body, sweaty and dirty, as she knocked down attackers who threw themselves over her. He reveled in every grab his men made as they grappled her into neck holds and bear hugs then being tossed aside by her camouflaged strength. Just as Kai thought his fight with her would have to begin, she was blindsided, a punch landed.

Sakura didn't see it coming soon enough. The rock-hard fist came across her face sideways sending her reeling to the edge of the cliff. Her vision went blurry and she couldn't keep her feet steady as she tried desperately to regain her stance. Just as she pieced together her wits, her last step, barely missing the edge of the cliff, sent her careening outward toward the horizon.

Without a moment to ponder the misstep or the fall downward, a hand grabbed her. With a mighty pull, Naruto whipped her back to solid ground. As she flew by him he gave her a nod, and with the momentum the two had gathered, sent her running to her ultimate target, Kai. Sakura smiled at the teamwork the two had developed over the course of their friendship. They didn't even need to exchange words to know what the other was thinking or to develop a plan of attack.

She saw Kai wind up his weapon, and fling the iron ball in her direction, the chain coiling behind. It was an easy dodge, too easy, like it wasn't meant for her...She watched the iron ball fly past, looking back just as the weapon made impact, hitting Naruto in the head. The blow, unexpected, sent him reeling off backwards, the same fate Sakura had suffered. She turned, sprinting to where she had just come from, trying to stop Naruto's plummet. He had already begun to fall, his feet in the air, arms reaching out toward Sakura's. The two made eye contact, a stare that screamed a thousand words: don't let me fall! I won't let you! Grab my hand!

Just as Sakura reached out in what would have been the nick of time, her fingertips barely grazing Naruto's, she felt chain wrap around her leg yanking her and her only chance to save Naruto away. As she was whipped backward, she could only watch as Naruto fell past the cliff. She kept waiting for him to disperse into white smoke, perhaps just a clone, but it never happened.

Sakura landed hard against the side of the mountain, Kai's chain no longer squeezing tight around her leg. She had no words, nothing to scream, she just breathed heavily, looking out to where Naruto had fallen out of view. She tried miserably to rid herself of his last haunting expression, one of fear and desperation, but it was no use, she couldn't and the effort was squeezing tears from her eyes. Moments later the clones, who had still been fighting all around her, vanished in a great puff of smoke only to be blown away by the wind.

There she stood, backed against the rocky wall. Time enough to pull her black leather gloves tight to her palms, her stare never wavering from the numerous glares of enemy combatants waiting to make their moves...

* * *

...


	5. Reunited

Sakura opened her eyes. It seemed to be early morning, it was chilly and the sun was dim, yet the last thing she remembered was dusk. She was lying down looking up at the sky, a vast and strange sky. Something she was lying on was poking her back, and it hurt. She sat up, trying to remember what she was doing, it was something important. She didn't know where she was or how she had gotten there, and oddly it didn't surprise her. She looked around the open field, the sky seemed too blue, the grass too green, the air was eerily quiet except for the sound of rushing water which seemed to be all around, yet no rivers were in sight.

There in the distance she could see him waving. His blonde hair was unmistakable, his bright orange jacket stood out from the horizon line.

"Naruto?" Sakura whispered, thinking there was something important she had to do, something to do with him.

Sakura stood up and started to run toward him. She felt an urgency to reach him, but didn't know why. With each step, he seemed to move further away, as if the land was stretching between them. He kept waving to her, motioning her to come to him, but she couldn't.

"Wait! Naruto!" She kept running trying to close the impossible distance.

It was getting hard for her to breath and the water sound was getting louder, deafeningly so. The ground was getting soggy and soft, filling with dark muddy water. With each step Sakura sank lower, the more she struggled the more she couldn't move.

"Naruto! I'm sinking!" She managed to scream just as her head fell beneath the water line.

The murky water engulfed her body, the sound of rushing waters was all she could hear, it was so loud it hurt. Her struggles stopped as she looked around into the endless blue wondering why she hadn't drowned yet. The pain in her back returned, like a bee sting. Then like the flood all around her she remembered everything – the mission, the fight, Naruto's fall, her jump off the ledge...

When she reached out to stop Naruto's fall, she saw it, the river below. It was a long way down, but is was wide and it looked deep. She had jumped with the faith that Naruto was swept away by the swift waters, and that he survived it. Nothing could stop Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage, she knew he would survive anything in his way, and that she might survive too, if only to witness his invincibility.

So where was she right now? Was this a dream? A hallucination? Was she dead? Though she felt like her body couldn't move, she tried with all her heart to swim upward, above this water, this hallucination.

She felt a hand grab her shoulder, and then another grab around her waist, was it death? Was death going to stop her from surviving this? She fought the embrace, she had to swim upward.

"Sakura, stop struggling! You're out of the river!" The voice was a familiar one.

Naruto had seen her lifeless body floating by from where he had managed to pull himself out. He was sitting away from the water's edge, figuring out how to get a fire started to fend off the evening's chilling air. It was by sheer luck that he even saw her. The rushing rapids abruptly turned into gentle currents with one last decent over a small waterfall, Sakura had made a splashing sound as she tumbled into the pooling waters. It would have been easy to mistake the sound as a log drifting by.

Naruto had jumped back in, wrapping his strong arms around her body, getting her back to the shore. He came stumbling out of the waters, Sakura's arm wrapped around his neck, the only means he had of dragging her out. He collapsed under both their weight. They fell face down, side by side. Dazed and still in her dream she tried to call out to him, but instead of her voice, water came spewing from her lungs, her body desperate for air. Instinctually she pressed her arms into the ground, trying to push herself up, trying yet again to breath, only to uncontrollable cough, water pouring from her lips. Her arms trembled, they had no strength left to even lift her from the cold earth. Finally when her lungs were cleared and her breath returned, she took a blurry glimpse of Naruto's face, he was looking back at her, there, lying on the same ground, breathing the same air. They had a silent conversation in that stare, one of relief that the other was still alive. Sakura fought to keep her eyes open but there was no fight left in her, she passed out, her last thought – that Naruto was invincible.

* * *

...


	6. In Dreams Lie Truth

Sakura knew she was dreaming, it was too pleasant to be reality. She was warm in her bed, the covers weighing heavily on her. She felt safe, being enveloped in blankets that shielded her from the outside world. She wanted to rest peacefully but she knew it wasn't real.

She turned to her side, grasping a pillow in her arms, it felt warm, like it had been resting next to a fire. Her dream felt real enough, though she could smell hints of pine and dirt as she brought the fabric to her cheek – she wasn't in her bed, she was somewhere else.

Sakura couldn't quite piece together her memories, they seemed jumbled and out of order. As she tried to sort out what was real and what wasn't, she felt a heavy arm wrap around her waist; it was gentle and familiar. Slowly, she felt a body press against her back as the arm drew her close.

"I knew you'd make it..." Sakura knew who it was without knowing. "I knew you'd survive the fall...." She whispered.

"Ha, of course...." His voice calm and soft. "But did you think you would?"

The question burned. Sakura knew she was dreaming, how else could he know what was meant to be secret? "It doesn't matter...." Even in dreams she couldn't hold back tears.

"It matters to me, Sakura. Tell me...Say it." She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, his hand glancing against her stomach where her shirt was riding up.

Sakura turned, enveloping his body with her arms and entangling her legs with his. The embrace was an intimate one, she could feel it's warmth deep inside. It felt good to be covered, to be protected by his body. "I didn't think I'd see you again..." She squeezed him tight.

"You didn't answer my question." His reply was soft, his voice was even.

"...No..." The answer was more real as the word left her mouth.

"I didn't hear you." He replied, "Say it again."

"No." And with a flinch, Sakura awoke to the cold night air, a fire slowly dying and the light snoring sounds of Naruto curled next to her.

Laying on her back, a heavy arm weighing across her chest, a sleeping body pressed against hers, Sakura gathered her wits, piecing together what had really happened and what was a dream. She slowly sat up, Naruto's arm falling into her lap, finally being pulled off as he rolled away, still soundly sleeping.

The intimacy of her dream made her face blush, she wondered what else she would have dreamed if she hadn't been awakened. She reached a hand to her face, her cheeks were hot against her icy fingers. She could feel the dull ache of bruising along her temple. Sakura shook her head in disgust for being blindsided by a punch – she should have known better.

Sakura reached behind her, her fingers traveling just beneath her should blade. The stinging pain had long since subsided. She had been hit with a kunai as she fell off the cliff. The feeling of her skin splitting came back vividly as she relived the fall. Her breath cut short as she remembered hitting the water as if it was harder than stone, the force ripping her clothes and raking the blade from her back. Her hand found what felt like stitches – they were uneven, though secure enough to do the job – she would have to yell at him for the scar those would leave.

She looked down at the sleeping boy. His blonde hair strewn across his face, his lips parted, his face peaceful. Her dreaming words disturbed her thoughts. Deep down she knew what she was thinking when she jumped. Even in death she would follow him. She was thankful for his strength, somehow lending it to her as she plummeted to the unknown.

"Hmm?" Naruto began to stir. He rolled into her body, his arm reaching out, looking for something to keep him warm.

Sakura exhaled, closing her eyes as his arm slid across her waist, perhaps her dream was getting the better of her senses. Naruto jolted from his sleep, sitting up, clumsily darting his gaze, piecing together where he was. Finally he let his eyes settle on his teammate, Sakura could see the relief in his expression as he smiled without a word to say. It took a moment for him to pull his arm away, "Sorry...It's a cold night..."

"Is that all you have to say?" Sakura swept him into an awkward hug, their bodies not quite fitting together from where they sat.

Naruto didn't really expect the gesture, it caught him off guard. He felt her cheek brush against his, her arms wrap his neck. Tentatively he let his arms touch her back, sliding them up to grab her shoulders. "I'm sorry about the stitches, it was the best I could do..." He whispered.

"You apologize too much..." Sakura whispered. "I didn't think I'd see you again...."

"Ha, it would take more than that..." Naruto laughed the soft words into her ear.

Sakura chuckled, though there was no humor in her retort. "No, I knew you'd make it, I knew you'd survive the fall."

Her whispers pulled Naruto's smile from his face. She only meant her statement one way, and it was chilling the way she framed it as funny. "What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto hugged her tight, his lips glancing against her ear as he asked the question.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter...." she whispered back, letting their embrace go.

"It matters to me." Naruto plainly stated as he pulled away, sitting next to Sakura once again.

Sakura was frozen by his words. She wondered how much of her dream was just a dream. There were times Naruto chose what to say too carefully. Sakura didn't bother to respond, he knew what she had meant. Pulling away from the embrace, her cheek glancing against his, she caught his mouth with hers. The kiss, less chaste than she meant it to be, was her answer.

Sakura lay back down on the ground, huddling closer to the weakening fire. Naruto didn't have a response to the strange gesture, somehow in a mysterious way he accepted her thanks for pulling her from the river. Though he wanted Sakura to admit what she had meant, Naruto conceded that she would explain herself another time. He lay down next to her, gently reaching his arm across her waist, not wondering if he should. She pulled it tight, a silent request for comfort.

Naruto complied, pressing against her body, his arm drawing her close. "I'll never let you down, Sakura. That's a promise." He whispered as the warmth of her skin lulled him to sleep.

"I know." Sakura finally whispered back. She knew he wouldn't.

* * *

...


	7. Mission Complete

Sai sat across the blackened coals of the dead fire. The morning's light was crisp as it started to burn off the misty dew that had settled on the ground. Silently he watched his teammates sleep, their bodies twisted around each other's, arms and legs intertwined. His books never delved into this sort of personal interaction, though he had a somewhat limited understanding of what he was looking at. He smiled, though yet again, he didn't really understand why such sights would elicit that reaction.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, squinting through blurry vision she made out Sai's form. It startled her. She rudely awoke Naruto from his sleep as she climbed over him to get to her feet. "Ow." Naruto rubbed his belly where she pressed off him like a spring board.

"How long have you been there?" She yelled, embarrassment apparent. "This isn't what it looks like...." Sakura tried to stutter out explanations and excuses.

"I think it looks pretty clear." Sai honestly didn't really know what he was witnessing, but a joke seemed appropriate. "I've completed the mission, shall we go back to the village for some ramen?" He had a mischievous smile on his face.

Naruto wondered when Sai had developed a sense of humor. "It really isn't what it looks like, Sakura was being such a baby last night, saying it was too cold..." Naruto smiled as he looked up to the exasperated kunoichi. "She asked me to keep her warm." He couldn't say it with a straight face, laughter slipping through the words.

Sakura looked down letting Naruto see a slight smile, he always did have a way of making everything alright. She gave Naruto a playful smack on the head.

Sai had gotten up and started to walk to the path that led home. "Sai, it really isn't what it looks like..." Sakura started to follow him.

"How can something not look like what it is?" He smiled as he continued his playful taunts.

Naruto jumped to his feet, running to catch up to his friends. "Hey, come on Sakura-chan, just admit it, it was cold last night!" He laughed as he bumped his way between the two, arms hanging around each of their shoulders.

"Shut-up Naruto..." Sakura lamented, jabbing her elbow into his side.

And just as their simple delivery mission had started, it was ending with high spirits, good-hearted banter and three friends among good company.

* * *

...

Thanks for making it to the end. Comments and reviews are always welcomed, please let me know what I did right and what needs work.


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